Hognose bite

[Obelisk]

Has anyone here ever gotten bitten by their hognose? My Western just got me a little while ago. Even after holding it's head under the tap, it still managed to work its fangs into my finger a few times. The finger is now swollen, red, and throbbing. I can't even bend it. I think the pictures that I took kind of suck, but I'll put them up anyway later today.

I take so many precautions to not get bitten by my crazy little Florida King, yet I get bitten by the hognose . I was spacing out his feedings a little more than before so as not to overfeed him, so I guess that lead to this exaggerated feeding response.

 

[JC50]

I have a young female but she has never shown and defensive behaviors at all and is very calm when i hold her.The only time she has even hissed at me is when i was checking on her and found she had started to go into a shed.I am curious if your snake tried biting you as soon as you attempted to take it out of its enclosure or were you actually holding it first.

 

[Obelisk]

He bit me as soon as I touched him. This snake is really never aggressive with me though. He's hissed and flattened out his neck a few times when I first got him, but after that he's never really shown any defensive behaviors. IMO, it was most likely a feeding response. It's possible he could have felt threatened, as I always have to (gently) dig him up from his bedding to put him in his feeding container. The only thing I've been doing differently is spacing out his meals, so I'm guessing that's what did it.

 

[Malhavoc's]

nothing will keep a fatman from his snickers bar, you attempted to do this, you became the snickers bar!

I agree with feeding response, if it was defensive you most likely would of seen defensive displays before the bite, flattening hissing etc. as the bite is usualy last resort.

 

[pitbulllady]

Western Hogs apparently possess some rather potent venom compared to their Eastern cousins. I've first-hand seen some bites that were quite unpleasant, comparable to most Copperhead bites in terms of swelling, discoloration and pain. Here is an hour-by-hour photographic chronicle of a bite that I found on the internet: http://www.herpnet.net/bite/ . As you can see, the swelling is pretty bad. I got nailed by a Copperhead when I was nine, and my experience was pretty similar to this guy's. Most bites probably aren't this bad, but this is what CAN happen. I'd keep some Benadryl handy just in case.

pitbulllady

 

[Malhavoc's]

Western Hogs apparently possess some rather potent venom compared to their Eastern cousins. I've first-hand seen some bites that were quite unpleasant, comparable to most Copperhead bites in terms of swelling, discoloration and pain. Here is an hour-by-hour photographic chronicle of a bite that I found on the internet: http://www.herpnet.net/bite/ . As you can see, the swelling is pretty bad. I got nailed by a Copperhead when I was nine, and my experience was pretty similar to this guy's. Most bites probably aren't this bad, but this is what CAN happen. I'd keep some Benadryl handy just in case.

pitbulllady

incredible I never knew they had such a strong bite capability! thanks pbl.

 

[Obelisk]

I know this pic is blurry, but is does show the inflammation and redness on the affected parts.

nothing will keep a fatman from his snickers bar, you attempted to do this, you became the snickers bar!

I agree with feeding response, if it was defensive you most likely would of seen defensive displays before the bite, flattening hissing etc. as the bite is usualy last resort.

Yeah, it looks like this was the snake's way of letting me know what he thought of his new feeding schedule :evil:

Western Hogs apparently possess some rather potent venom compared to their Eastern cousins. I've first-hand seen some bites that were quite unpleasant, comparable to most Copperhead bites in terms of swelling, discoloration and pain. Here is an hour-by-hour photographic chronicle of a bite that I found on the internet: http://www.herpnet.net/bite/ . As you can see, the swelling is pretty bad. I got nailed by a Copperhead when I was nine, and my experience was pretty similar to this guy's. Most bites probably aren't this bad, but this is what CAN happen. I'd keep some Benadryl handy just in case.

pitbulllady

I've seen that site before, though luckily my bite wasn't nearly as bad as that guy's. There was no pain either. Unlike that guy, I'm able to use the hand, but not for tasks that involve using a firm grip. I'm leaving the benadryl for right before going to sleep due to the drowsiness.

 

[Toirtis]

Here is an hour-by-hour photographic chronicle of a bite that I found on the internet: http://www.herpnet.net/bite/ .

To be fair, that 'bite' does not count at a typical one, since the chap let it chew on him for several minutes, so the severity is much greater than one should expect from just a typical bite.

 

[Mez]

Do people really still use the term 'fangs' with western hogs?! I thought people just called them frog poppers. Haha. I've been bitten by them a few times, and I tend to react badly to things like this, and had no effects. Nowhere near as bad as a note from a Northern Pine, the pressure those things have in their jaws seems unreal, always lots of bruising for me. Are 'proper' rear fanged species popular in the usa? Such as Boiga, Ahtuella, Telescopus etc.

 

[pitbulllady]

To be fair, that 'bite' does not count at a typical one, since the chap let it chew on him for several minutes, so the severity is much greater than one should expect from just a typical bite.

From what I've been told by people who keep and have been bitten by Western Hogs, it's hard NOT to let them chew on you, since they don't do that "strike-and-release" thing. They "bulldog" you, as the late Steve Irwin would describe it. Having dealt with "chewer" snakes before, it's harder than you think to make them let go. I use vinegar for the bigger constrictors, since they hate the taste and will let go immediately if it's poured into their mouths, but I guess most people don't think about that when handling a little fat chubby Hognose. In the several seconds that it takes to get to the kitchen and find the vinegar, a pretty significant dose of venom can be worked into the bite by that chewing action.

And Mez, I know what you mean about Pine and Bull Snake bites; they don't just have powerful jaws, but that big muscular constrictor body means that the jaws hit with a punch, too. Hognoses, by the way, ARE "proper rear-fanged snakes", as they are classified as Opisthoglyphic snakes, just like Boomslangs, Mangroves, etc. Most "hot" keepers, though, in the US don't keep rear-fanged species. It's difficult to obtain many due to export laws and more and more places are banning them under the same laws that ban Rattlesnakes and Cobras, plus many are more difficult to keep, especially if they are imports. The most commonly kept, aside from the Hognoses, are the "False Water Cobras"(Hydronastes gigas), which have a bite that makes a Pine Snake's look like a nip from a tiny Grass snake in comparison! Those snakes must have the most powerful jaws of any snake; mine would actually crush bones in their jumbo rats when they bit down, and often would bite so hard that the rat's(it was already dead, as I only feed f/t)intestines would burst out. It would be a nightmare trying to pry one of those off you if it decided to your hand was a rat!

pitbulllady

 

[Obelisk]

Do people really still use the term 'fangs' with western hogs?!

Heterodon = rear-fanged. Yes, people do use that term for them

 

[Mez]

Yes, of course I know they are rear fanged, I was just joking, didn't mean to offend anyone!

 

[Toirtis]

From what I've been told by people who keep and have been bitten by Western Hogs, it's hard NOT to let them chew on you, since they don't do that "strike-and-release" thing. They "bulldog" you, as the late Steve Irwin would describe it. Having dealt with "chewer" snakes before, it's harder than you think to make them let go.

Incorrect...I have been bitten a number of times now, and removing them was no real chore....it just requires some knowledge.

 

[Obelisk]

Yes, of course I know they are rear fanged, I was just joking, didn't mean to offend anyone!

I'm sure you didn't